Tom Armbruster

Today’s Remembering RMI guest writer is former US Ambassador to the Marshall Islands TOM ARMBRUSTER who served in this position from August 2012 to May 2016.

My favorite place in the Marshall Islands was anywhere underwater.

The first time I saw a shark I knew I had to take my cue from Hiro, RayCrew’s incomparable divemaster. Hiro was calm as ever. In fact, whenever I dove with Hiro, while I was on the lookout for sharks, rays, turtles and barracuda, Hiro would be busy photographing tiny candy cane shrimp, Nemo fish, and other small wonders he found in the coral that I totally missed. Hiro has a great eye for reef details and life. His reef IQ is off the charts.

I snorkeled and dove in many places from Kwajalein to Arno to Mili and I even enjoyed the harbor scuba cleanups since we always saw fish even in waters with Budweiser cans lining the bottom. It was great to see young people involved in beach and underwater clean ups and I think every kid should get a mask and snorkel and eventually a scuba tank to truly experience the natural marine wonders of the Marshall Islands.

There were lots of significant events in the Marshall Islands during my time in the Marshalls from 2012-2016. Bringing the United States Under Secretary for Arms Control to Majuro on Remembrance Day to bridge some of the gap between the United States and the Marshall Islands on the nuclear legacy was certainly a big event. And while the event took place in New York City, seeing Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner’s transcendent performance of her poem “Dear Matafele Peinem” at the United Nations was unforgettable. I knew when I nominated Kathy that she would be a strong candidate, but I didn’t know her entry “Tell Them” would have the judges in tears or that her performance at the Climate Summit would be such a stunning reminder of what is at stake for island countries threatened by sea level rise.

Getting the ball rolling to defuel the Prinz Eugen by appealing directly to the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon was another big win that finally came about thanks to Ambassador Karen Stewart. 

There are so many great memories. Spending time with kids during NBA Coach Tom Newell’s basketball clinics, tennis with the gang by the Embassy and in Kwajalein and especially the Chicken Run games, talking or even arguing with Minister for Assistance Tony deBrum, and translating the drifter Jose Salvador Alvarenga’s incredible story from Spanish to English when he arrived at the dock in Majuro after 438 days at sea. And all the wonderful, generous people of the Marshall Islands. Who could forget! 

Of course, there were some bad memories too. Like our adopted Delap dog Skipjack eating the couch in the living room…But most of the memories are great and I’m grateful that our son Bryan was able to teach for a year in Majuro Middle School and that Kathy was able to put her skills to work building a library at the Coop School. 

But back to scuba. Hiro and his assistant Sato saved the day for me one day when my mask lens popped out in about 60 feet of water. I must have had the Walmart special mask on when it failed. For a while Sato switched with me but that didn’t seem fair so I took my mask back and did my best to see where I was going. That may have been the same dive that I cut my finger and was fascinated to see the blood pouring out looking green underwater. I swear one of the sharks at the “aquarium” by the pass noticed, looked at me, cocked his head like a puzzled dog, and said to himself “Tourists!”

Anyway, I could not have asked for more from a Foreign Service assignment and Kathy and I would love to come back for a visit someday. Maybe that shark will remember me.

For now, we’ve got to shovel the snow!

Remembering RMI is a series that appears in The Marshall Islands Journal. Former Ambassador Tom Armbruster was the debut guest writer in February, 2021. You can subscribe to the Journal by visiting the newspaper’s website: marshallislandsjournal@gmail.com.